Power Rangers: Animarium- Part VIII: Light In the Desert
by rjendo
Summary: The celebration following Cole and Tonya's re-marriage continue. Following the festivities, Charlie & Ty are deployed to Africa. Whle there, Charlie meets an abandoned white lion cub who melts his heart. When it's time to go home, Charlie has to make a critical decision.


Power Rangers: Animarium Part VIII: Light In the Desert

Summary: While on deployment in Africa, Charlie meets an orphaned white lion cub who melts his heart. When it's time to go home, Charlie has to make a critical decision.  
Thanks for reading. Please review and comment. I have an idea for part 9. If you want to see it happen, please comment.

Original Characters: Charlie, Tyler M (aka Ty) Tyke, Tonya  
Non-Power Rangers Characters: Monica, Tess, Andrew (Touched by an Angel)  
Timeframe: immediately after Part VII  
Songs- "Dela" from _George of the Jungle_.  
excerpt from "This Is Me" from _The Greatest Showman_

The Animarium was alive with activity. The wedding was over, and now everybody was gathering for the reception. Everybody, especially Tyke and Red, was happy that Cole was back for good and wanted this to be a huge celebration. Even the angels had been invited, along with every Power Ranger in existence that could come. Red, Nalita, the cubs, plus Fang and Granite, had been given baths for the occasion. Tyler and Charlie were in their Marine dress uniforms.  
Cole and Tonya were sitting in the temple while everybody was gathering in Red's field, enjoying the moment. Suddenly, a bright glow appeared and the three angels appeared. Cole smiled. "Thanks for coming for the reception." Andrew smiled.  
"Hey I performed the ceremony, right? I've got to be there. Besides, I've got another job here tonight. I'm the DJ."  
Tess smiled as well. "Plus if there's a song you'd like sung live, let me know and I'll help out with it."  
Monica walked up. "And I'll help with anything else you need help with."  
Cole and Tonya walked down the line of angels exchanging hugs.  
Tess put her hands on her hips. "What are we standing around here for? Don't we have a party to get to?"  
A little later, Tess was on a stage. A double row of the Silver Guardians was standing as a tunnel. Tess saw the couple and smiled.  
"Ladies and Gentlemen, it is my pleasure to re-introduce to you, for the second time, Mr. & Mrs. Cole Evans!"  
Andrew hit a control on his panel, and _Rewrite the Stars_ played as Cole and Tonya walked down the row of Silver Guardians. Everybody cheered and applauded as the two made their way onto the dance floor. Cole and Tonya approached Tess and whispered something to her. She smiled and nodded, looked around the room and spotted who she was looking for.  
"Hey, Tyler Navarro, come up here!"  
Tyler looked at her, surprised. He made his way to the stage and Tess told him the couple's request. He nodded and cued up the song. The angel supervisor spoke into her microphone.  
"Ladies and Gentlemen, we have had a very special request from the bride and groom. For their first dance together, they've asked to have a very special song performed, by a very special young man." She turned to Andrew and nodded as he activated the backing track. Tess handed the microphone over to Tyler and smiled. "Go for it, baby!" Cole and Tonya joined hands and started to glide across the dance floor. Tyler started to sing:  
"One day I looked up and there you were,  
like a simple question looking for an answer.  
Now I am a whale listening to some inner call,  
swimming blindly to throw myself upon your shore.  
What if I don't find you when I have landed?  
Would you leave me here to die on your shore stranded?  
I think I know why the dog howls at the moon.  
I think I know why the dog howls at the moon.  
I sing Dela, dela ngyanya dela when I'm with you,  
Dela, sondela mama sondela, I burn for you.  
I've been waiting for you all my life hoping for a miracle,  
I've been waiting day and night, day and night.  
I've been waiting for you all my life waiting for redemption;  
I've been waiting day and night, I burn for you.  
A blind bird sings inside this cage that is my heart,  
the image of your face comes to me when I'm alone in the dark.  
If I could give a shape to this ache I have for you,  
If I could find a voice to speak the words that capture you.  
I think I know, I think I know, I think I know, I think I know  
I think I know why the dog howls at the moon. (Fang and Granite let out a howl together)  
I think I know why the dog howls at the moon."  
Monica looked up towards Heaven, fighting back tears. "Thank you, father for this blessed event."  
"I sing dela, dela ngyanya dela when I'm with you,  
Dela, sondela mama sondela, I burn for you.  
I've been waiting for you all my life hoping for a miracle,  
I've been waiting day and night, day and night.  
I've been waiting for you all my life waiting for redemption;  
I've been waiting day and night, I burn for you.  
Dela, sondela mama sondela, I burn for you.  
I've been waiting for you all my life hoping for a miracle,  
I've been waiting day and night, day and night.  
I've been waiting for you all my life waiting for redemption;  
I've been waiting day and night, I burn for you."  
Everybody on the dance floor applauded. Andrew picked up a mic.  
"Ok, everybody! Let's hear it for Mr. Tyler Navarro!"  
The applause got louder. The reception went on with the usual wedding traditions, the cake cutting, the father and daughter dance, the YMCA, and much more. When it came time for one of the more exciting traditions, Shelby caught the bouquet, and Tyler caught the garter. They smiled and shared a kiss right on the dance floor.  
The rest of the night was filled with beautiful music, especially towards the end when Tyler and Tess performed a stirring duet of _This Is Me_ with Tyke following along on the drums. Towards the middle of the second verse, a choir of angels joined in. They couldn't be seen by anybody else but Andrew, Monica, Tess, and Rafael, but they could be heard loud and clear.  
The following week, Charlie was in the Command Chamber with Tommy and Tyler going through some systems when Ty walked in. Charlie looked up.  
"What's up, Ty?"  
Ty handed him a letter. Charlie read it. "Ok, guys. Let's get Tyke and have a little chat."  
30 minutes later, Charlie, Ty, Tonya, Cole, and Tyke were in the living room of the main house. Charlie spoke first.  
"Guys, this is never easy to say, so I'm just going to say it right out. Ty and I are getting deployed." Everybody started murmuring at once. Charlie continued.  
"It's a 3 month mission to Tunisia. We're going there to train an infantry unit." Tyke ran up and threw himself into Charlie's arms.  
"You can't go! I'll miss you too much!"  
"I know, little guy. But this is part of my job. I go where they need me. Besides, it's only for 3 months. I'll be back before you know it!" Tyke buried his face into Charlie's shirt and cried openly.  
A week later, Ty and Charlie were on the tarmac at the Animarium's airstrip outside the Command Chamber. The Silver Guardians were helping to load Crusher onto a C-17 that would take it, along with Ty and Charlie to Tunisia. The two walked the rope line to say goodbye to everyone before they had to leave. Everyone had shown up to see them off: all the present and former rangers, Tonya, Tyke, Cole, and the entire Angel Grove Police Department, along with several others. Even the angels showed up. Tyke gave Charlie another tight hug, not wanting to let go. Charlie fought back tears as he handed the little guy back to his mother. Wes walked up to the two brothers. The former Red Time Force Ranger was decked out in his Silver Guardian uniform.  
"Time to go, guys."  
Charlie nodded. He and Tyler headed to the plane and walked up the ramp following a group of other soldiers and marines. The ramp closed and the engines powered up. The plane taxied out away from the hangar. At the entrance to the taxiway, a couple of fire trucks sent from the Turtle Cove fire department sprayed their guns in a water cannon salute. The C-17 continued underneath and held position at the end of the runway. Wes nodded to Eric, his co-captain.  
"Ten-hut!" one by one, all the Silver Guardians, the police, and all the former Rangers saluted as the giant plane roared down the runway. Even Tyke managed a small salute, fighting back tears as the plane lifted off of the runway into the air. In the back, the angels were watching as well. Monica watched the plane disappear into the clouds.  
"Watch over them, Father."  
Tess hugged her tight. "He will, Angel Girl. He will."  
Over the next couple months, Charlie and Ty helped train the Tunisian soldiers in basic combat techniques, firearms training, and battlefield tactics. The soldiers seemed to get the hang of it pretty quickly. Each evening, the two brothers would go out to the edge of the base and watch the sunset, unaware they themselves were being watched.  
One afternoon, Charlie was alone in his barracks, checking his e-mail. He sat back after reading an e-mail from home, including a picture of Granite with Mario taken next to their police cruiser. He got up and went over to his backpack to grab a protein bar. He reached in, and the next thing he knew, something bit him on the hand. Charlie pulled his hand out and saw what looked like bite marks.  
"AAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHH! What the…?"  
He opened the main area of the backpack and saw a little white lion shivering in his backpack, chirping in fear.  
"Hey, little guy! It's ok, I won't hurt you. Come on out."  
The little lion walked out of the backpack. Charlie gently rubbed him behind the ears and on the back.  
"Where did you come from?" the little lion let out a series of squeaks. Charlie wished he had Circuit with him to help translate the little guy's noises. "You know you're really cute." The little one licked Charlie's hand where he had bitten him and squeaked sadly, as if apologizing.  
"Its okay buddy, I'm fine. No harm done." Charlie looked around, concerned. He was afraid of what might happen if anybody else found him. Suddenly there was a knock at the door.  
"Charlie?" the voice belonged to Ty. The little lion chirped and darted back into the backpack. Charlie whispered to him.  
"Just stay in there." He zipped the backpack closed partway, leaving enough of an opening for the little cub to get some air.  
"Come on in, Ty."  
Ty walked in. "Well, bro. Things are going pretty well. I just had a conversation with the base commander. If everything keeps going this good, we'll be going home in a couple weeks."  
"That's awesome, bro!"  
Charlie's backpack began to shake, and pretty soon chirping noises could be heard coming from inside it. Ty heard the noise and looked around.  
"Bro, what was that?"  
Charlie smiled innocently. "What was what?"  
"That chirping sound." He looked over at Charlie's backpack and saw it shaking. He looked at his brother. "Charlie, open the backpack."  
Charlie sighed. _Guess it's time to let the cat out of the bag,_ he thought to himself.  
He walked over to the bag and opened it. "It's okay little guy. You can come out."  
Slowly, the cub walked out. Ty's eyes went wide as he knelt next to the desk the backpack had rested on.  
"Charlie, I can't believe this! It's a baby lion. How did he get here?"  
"I don't know, I just reached into my bag for a protein bar, and there he was."  
Ty looked closer and noticed a bruise near the cub's left shoulder. "Bro, did you see this?" he pointed out the bruise to Charlie.  
"No, but that's not a good sign."  
"I'll be right back. I'm going to get the base vet." A few minutes later he returned with the base vet, who just happened to be Andrew, the angel.  
"Well, well, what do we have here? A baby white lion. Looks like he's about 3 months old."  
Ty pointed out the bruise. "What do you make of this, doc?"  
"Hmmm…. Looks like he was hit. Possibly by another lion." He held the cub's face and looked into his eyes, and saw intense sadness. "Guys, I think he was abandoned deliberately."  
Charlie's eyes went wide. "WHAT? Why would anybody do that?"  
"Well, he is different. Maybe the rest of his pride decided he was too different and didn't want him around anymore, so he had nobody to take care of him."  
"What do we do though? We can't just leave him here."  
"Bring him by my tent and I'll give him a full checkup. We'll also give him some food and I'll tell the base commander what's going on."  
A little while later, the cub was getting some improvised formula from a bottle. The base commander was watching intently.  
"Well, Charlie, I have to admit I'm surprised. Seems like you've made a new friend."  
"Yes, sir."  
"Have you made a decision on what you're going to do with him when it's time for you to leave?"  
"Not yet, sir. But until I do, I'm going to take care of him myself."  
"Very well. But both you and your brother will have to watch him at all times."  
"Yes, sir!" the two brothers saluted. The commander returned the salute and left. Charlie looked at the little guy.  
"Bro, we've got to take him home with us."  
"Charlie, I know you've grown attached to the little guy, but he belongs here."  
"Ty, you heard the doc. His pride abandoned him! He needs us now!"  
Ty shook his head and looked at the little cub. He leaned in and smiled. "Ok, little guy. You're going to come home with us." The little lion chirped and licked Ty's face, melting the big guy's heart.  
A few hours later, Ty was on Skype with the family. They were discussing how excited they were to see them. After all the excitement, he asked to talk to Circuit.  
"Hey, Ty! What's up?"  
"Circuit, I need you to do a translation for me. I need you to get me the Swahili word for light."  
Circuit took a couple seconds, and then came back. "It's Nuru."  
"Nuru." He looked at his little cub. "What do you think?"  
The little guy let out a chirp of approval. Charlie smiled. "Nuru it is."  
Circuit flapped his wings. "Charlie, what was that sound?"  
Charlie smiled. "A little surprise I'm bringing home. See you soon, Circuit!"  
"Bye, Charlie!" Circuit signed off, and Charlie picked up his little buddy. "Well, Nuru, pretty soon we'll be at your new home with your new family!" Nuru chirped excitedly.  
Before long, it came time to leave. The base commander provided a soft case to carry Nuru in. They realized he might have a little trouble keeping him calm on the flight home, so they put a tranquilizer in his bottle. After one final feeding, Nuru started to get groggy. Charlie put his nose to the baby's. "It's okay, little guy. Go ahead and take a nap. When you wake up, you'll be at your new home." Soon enough, Nuru was conked out. Charlie smiled.  
A few hours later on the Animarium, everybody had gathered at the airfield, eagerly awaiting the brothers' return.  
Wes had Circuit perched on his shoulder. He looked at the little blue owl.  
"So what did you and Charlie talk about?"  
"He needed a word translated. He said he's bringing a surprise back." Wes nodded. Suddenly, they heard the roar of the airplane's engines. The fire trucks took up their positions. Everybody watched in amazement as the airplane came into sight. Wes nodded to Circuit, who lifted up and took off towards the plane. Wes radioed up to the control tower who relayed his message to the plane. Before long, the plane was at a low enough altitude so Circuit took up a position ahead of it to escort it in. The big jet made a low pass over the runway and then turned around for a final approach. Circuit returned to Wes' shoulder. The plane finally touched down and rolled down the runway. It turned onto the taxiway and headed over towards the apron. At the edge of the taxiway, the fire trucks released another water cannon salute.  
Inside the plane, Charlie smiled as they rolled under the water. He turned to Ty.  
"We're home."  
Ty nodded and looked down at Nuru. Charlie had taken him out of his carrier and held him in his lap during the final approach. The little guy was still totally asleep. Ty smiled. "I can't believe he slept through the whole thing."  
The plane rolled to a stop in its parking spot just outside the hangar. The hatch opened and the brothers walked out to salutes from the Silver Guardians and cheers from everybody else. The brothers walked the line and shook hands. Suddenly, Charlie spotted Tyke holding a sign saying "Welcome Home Uncles!" He handed Nuru's carrier to Ty and rushed to the little guy. Tyke hugged his big uncle tight. Charlie smiled. "When we get home, I've got a surprise for everybody."  
A little while later, the group was in the nursery. Red and Nalita had joined them there, along with their cubs, and Fang and Granite. Circuit and Wes joined them as well. Charlie set the carrier on the ground and opened it.  
"Come on out, little guy!"  
Nuru slowly walked out. He saw all the eyes looking at him and trembled, then darted back into the carrier. Charlie chuckled. "It's okay, buddy. Nobody's going to hurt you. They want to meet you!"  
Nuru walked out again. Charlie picked him up and held him in his lap.  
"Everybody, this is Nuru."  
Circuit flapped his wings. "So that's why you wanted the translation! You needed to find a name for the baby!" Charlie nodded and looked down at the little guy who was still obviously nervous. Charlie could tell what was going on. There were too many people around.  
"Ok, Red and Nalita you can stay. Cole, Tyke and Ty, you can stay, along with the cubs. I'm afraid everybody else has to go. This is just too many people for him right now." Tommy nodded and the rest of the humans filed out except for Cole, Tyke, and Ty. After everybody else was gone, Charlie looked at the cub.  
"Is that better little guy?" Nuru nodded and stepped forward. Cole took a close look at the bruise on his leg.  
"He was definitely hit. And hit hard. I can give him some ointment that should help clear it up." Cole returned a little bit later with some ointment and gently rubbed it on the bruise. After he was done, Nuru turned around and nuzzled him. Cole smiled.  
"You're welcome little guy." Cole pointed towards Red and Nalita. "There are your new parents."  
Nuru slowly walked towards them as Red extended his paw towards the cautious white lion. He looked into the big eyes of the red lion and saw warmth. He knew he could trust them and nuzzled up against him. Charlie smiled.  
"I think this is our cue to make a discreet exit." He started to lead the rest of the humans away, but then he heard the little guy's chirps. Tyke smiled.  
"He wants us to stay to share this moment."  
Charlie smiled, and the humans turned around and sat near Red, Nalita, and Nuru. Cole smiled and brought the other cubs in to meet their adopted brother. They were all very curious about the new addition. Nuru was a little timid at first, but eventually he warmed up to them.  
One night Charlie, Ty, Cole, Tyke, Tonya, Tyler, Nuru, Red, and Nalita were relaxing around the fire ring when Kendall and Princess Shayla walked up with a small box. Kendall knelt down next to Nuru.  
"Nuru, I know you're still feeling a little lonely right now, but I have something for you to make you feel like part of the family." She opened the box and inside was a white collar with black trim and lettering. Nuru looked at it closer and saw his name embroidered on it. He smiled as Kendall slipped it around his neck.  
Kendall stepped back. "Welcome home Nuru."  
On another edge of the temple, Tess and Tyler stepped up. Tess smiled.  
"Nuru, we'd like to also officially welcome you to the family with a special song." She nodded to Tyler and the two broke into "This Is Me":  
"When the sharpest words want to cut me down.  
I'm gonna send a flood, gonna drown them out.  
I am brave, I am bruised, I am who I'm meant to be, this is me.  
Look out, 'cause here I come.  
And I'm marching on to the beat I drum.  
I'm not scared to be seen, I make no apologies, this is me!"  
Tyler jumped in as the assembled family started to clap along.  
"Another round of bullets hits my skin.  
Well fire away, 'cause today I won't let the shame sink in.  
We are bursting through the barricades and reaching for the sun."  
Again, the choir of angels joined in. This time, they could be seen as well as heard.  
"We are warriors, that's what we've become.  
I won't let them break me down to dust, I know there's a place for us, for we are glorious!  
When the sharpest words want to cut me down.  
I'm gonna send a flood, gonna drown them out.  
I am brave, I am bruised, I am who I'm meant to be, this is me.  
Look out, 'cause here I come. And I'm marching on to the beat I drum.  
I'm not scared to be seen, I make no apologies, this is me!"

Tess, Tyler, and the choir continued the song and eventually got everybody singing along all the way to the end. Nuru smiled and jumped up into Tess' arms, a tear of happiness rolling down his cheek as he gave her kisses and chirps, causing the angel to smile.  
"You're welcome, baby. Now you go back to your family." She set the little lion down and he scampered back to Red and Nalita.  
Tyler looked at the angel. "We should make a recording of that."  
Tess smiled. "Already taken care of, Ranger boy!" she handed him a CD. "It's on here."  
"Thank you. Hope we see you again soon."  
"You can count on it. We'll come by to check on these little cuties!"  
The group came up and gave Tess, Monica, and Andrew goodbye hugs. The three angels also got kisses and cuddles from the cubs. The three angels turned around and walked away. They soon vanished, and after that, a white dove flew off into the distance. Nuru looked up at it and turned towards his new family. For the first time in a long time, the little lion was home.

Thanks for reading. Please review and comment. I have an idea for part 9. If you want to see it happen, please comment.


End file.
